Corn cutter and harvester



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. A. CHAPMAN. CORN CUTTER AND HARVESTER.

No. 538,235. Patented Apr. 30, 1895.

A (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. A. CHAPMAN.

GORN GUTTER AND HARVESTER.

N5. 535,235. PatentedApr. so, 1895.

if g i It 2.: A V Q n' 1;/ l# zw i( Hu. I im* fh g H i \H E W 5 TQ,52:93 -xQ ex P1 f2 M# S s @MNM/M (No Model.) S'Sheets-Sheet 3.

T. A. CHAPMAN. CORN CUTTER AND HARVESTER.

THOMAS A. CHAPMAN, or cRieLERsviLLE, AssIcNoR or ONE-HALE To EDwARDPURoELL, JR., o. B. ROLLER, AND EDWARD c. MARTZ, or

I-IARRISONBIIRG, VIRGINIA.

CORN CUTTER AND HARVESTER.

SFEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,23 5, dated April30, 1 895.

Application ilcd May 11,1894. Serial No. 510,369. (No model.)

'ib all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, THOMAS A. CHAPMAN,

l a citizen of the United States, residing at Origlersville, in thecounty of Madison and State of Virginia, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Corn Cutters and Harvesters; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skiiled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to machines for cutting and harvesting corn on thestalk, and its object is to provide a machine which wiilcut two rows ata time, one on each side of the draft frame, and permit the draft frameand beam to pass between the rows; afid which will have but slight sidedraft, and the same, on one side of the draft frame, balanced bytheresistance on the other side thereof; and which will also receive thecorn upon endless apron platforms as it is reeled in by horizon'- talreel arms and cut by saw toothed cutter bars; and carried by saidplatforms to other inclined, slatted and toothed aprons, carried up bythe same and deposited upon a central intermittently revolved endlessapron platform; allowedto collect in quantities, sufficient for a shock,upon said platform, from whence it is discharged between the ridges ofthe two cut rows ready to be set up in shocks and tied; and to this endmy invention consists in certain novel combinations of parts as will behereinafter described, and which areillustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which latter- Figure 1 is a top view of my corn cutter andharvester. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on a line just a little forward of the cuttingapparatus and reels, looking backward; and Fig. 4 is a rear end View inwhich the parts forward of the rear end of the machine are shown.

A in the drawings is a draft frame provided with axle B and tractionwheels C, which latter are loose on the axle B, being provided as usual,with ratchets and pawls so that they shall revolve with the axle whenthe machine is moving forward, and turn on the axle when the machine isbacked or turned out of a Straight path. To this frame shafts D with awhiflietree E are connected by pivot irons a, so that a tandem team maybe attached for drawing the machine. A large beveled spur wheel F isprovided on the axle B, and a small beveled pinion F' which gears withwheel F, is applied on a longitudinal shaft G, on the forward end ofwhich is a cylindrical pinion G' for transmitting the motion foroperating a portion of the mechanism, as will be hereinafter described.Near the rear end of this draft frame, two jointed frames H, H', H2, H3,are arranged, being rigidly connected by their portions H2, H3 toinclined pendants b of the draft frame; said portions H2, H3, beingconnected to the portions I-I, H', by hinging pins or rods c. The frameportions H, H', are supported at .their outer edges on casters a' andthe portions H2, H3, at their inneredges on casters ft2, a3, so as torun easily upon the ground, ,and allow the machine to be also easilyturned around. On the frame of the portions H, H', short finger beams I,I' are applied, said finger beams terminating outside the rear cornersof the draft frame so as to leave a long space between their inner endsfor the convenient connection thereto, by the hinging pins or rods c, ofthe inclined pendantsof the draft frame. At the extreme outer ends ofthe finger beams, revolving reels J, J', consisting of horizontal armscl and vertical shafts d are arranged, the lower ends of the verticalshafts being boxed in strong brackets e bolted to the finger beams, andhaving bevel wheelsjif' on them below theirboxes, which gear with bevelwheels g, g on journals of revolving rollers h, h' which are boxed inthe hinge frame portion, H, I-l', and carry sprocket wheels t' i', ontheir rear ends. On the finger beams saw toothed cutters K, K', arearranged to move freely under the caps or guards of the Iingersj. Thesecutters are connected by inclining connecting rods L, L' to the wristpin lo of a disk or crank arm, as M, which is on the rear end of acentralrevolving shaft M' of the draft frame, said shaft carrying apinion M2 on its forward end, which gears with the power transmittingpinion G'.

At the inner edges of the frame portions H, H' are apron rollers N, N',carrying on their rear journaled ends, sprocket wheels N2, N3, and atthe upper edges of the frame portions IOO 112, H2 are apron rollers P, Pthe roller P carrying on its front and rear jo'urnaled ends sprocketwheels P2, and P3 and the roller P', sprocket wheels PG, P7. Around therollers h, N, 7L', N plain endless aprons N4, N5, are arranged torevolve in the direction of the arrows, 1 and 2, and on the rollers P,P', and ungeared rollers h2, h3, inclined aprons PSP, with slats l, t',having pins Z2, Z2, in them, are arranged to revolve in the direction ofthe arrows l, 2. The aprons N4, N5 and P4, P5 are, preferably, geared inpairs at their rear ends by means oi' sprocket chains R, R passedrespectively around the respective triplet sets and under idler rollersl, Z. The sprocket wheels on the front ends of the rollers P, P aregeared together by a sprocket chain P, and this chain passes around thesprocket wheel PG, and also around a sprocket wheel P10 on the shaft M',and under the sprocket wheel P2, and then around a plain pulley orsprocket wheel p12 attached to the draft frame. lith the machine thusgeared, the set of inclined aprons, and also set of horizontal aprons,will revolve toward the center ot' the draft frame asindicated by thearrows 1, l and 2 and the reels will be caused to revolve inwardasindicated by the arrows 3, 4t. Between the sets of aprons described,an apron T, revolving in the direction of the arrow 5 is provided. Thisapron is arranged on rollers m, n, one of which fm, is provided with asprocket wheel m.

On the draft frame, a pivot S for an angular hand lever S carrying aspur wheel S2 and a sprocket wheel S3, is applied; and around thesprocket wheel m andthe sprocket wheel S2, a sprocket chain S4 ispassed. The pinion S2 is arranged in such relation to alarger toothedwheel S5 on the axle B that it can be thrown into and out of gear withsaid toothed wheel. \Vhen it is out of gear, the sprocket chain becomesslack and no motion is imparted' to the apron T, and said apron remainsstill until the other aprons have deposited a suicient quantity upon itfor forining a shock, whereupon, by adjusting the pinion S2, by means ofthe hand lever S', in gear with the toothed wheel S5, the chain will betightened and the apron 'l setin motion and caused to discharge thegathered load upon the ground between the ridges of the two rows of cornthat are being cut and harvested.

It is plain that the saw toothed cutter bars are vibrated rapidlyagainst the corn stalks that are reeled in against them, that the apronscatch the falling corn and convey it over upon the intermittentlyrevolved apron T and that when the proper quantity has fallen upon saidapron, the driver from his seat V throws the pinion S2 in gear with thetoothed wheel S5 and thereby set said apron T revolving, thus causing itto discharge the gathered quantity upon the ground.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of the forwardwheeled draft fraino A provided with two gears F, S5, 011 its axle, twolongitudinal shafts G, M', one carrying power transmitting portions F, Gand the other a pinion M2, a sprocket wheel P10, a disk M provided withan eccentric or crank pin 7c, a toothed wheel S2 andasprocket wheel S2applied to a lever pivoted to the draft fraine,'two apron framesattached to pendants of the draft frame near the rear corners of thesame, said apron frames being mounted on suitable wheels, and providedat front with separate finger bars and in rear of said bars with endlessaprons arranged on rollers; saw toothed cutting bars connected by rodsto the wrist or crank pin of the disk; revolving reels on the outerfront corners of the iinger bars, sprocket wheels on the rear ends ofthe three sets ot' apron rollers and on the forward ends of one set ofsaid rollers, sprocket chains, one of said chains engaging two of thefront sprocket wheels of the apron rollers and the sprocket wheel P10passing around a pulley attached to the draft frame, and the other chainaround three sets of the rear sprocket wheels; an intermittentlyrevolved, longitudinal central apron arranged upon rollers, upon whichthe cut and harvested corn is deposited, and by which it is discharged,substantially as described.

2. The combination with the front central draft frame provided withdrivinggearing and means for throwing aspur and sprocket wheel thereofin and ontof gear, two side jointed platform aprons having horizontaland inclined endless aprons running on driven rollers, and provided withseparate finger beams, short, separate, saw toothed, vibrating cutters,a central intermittently revolved longitudinal apron arranged onrollers, one of which is provided with a gear, means for revolving theaprons,one of themintermittently and the others continuously, andrevolving reels, substantially as described.

3. In acorn cutterand harvester, the hinged horizontal apron frameportions, in combination with the inclined side apron frame portions,and the central intermittently revolved longitudinal apron,substantially as described.

4f. In a corn cutter and harvester, the coinbnation of horizontal apronframe portions, inclined side apron frame portions, an intermittentlyrevolved longitudinal apron, finger beams and cutters, a front sprocketchain ar ranged around a pulley attached to the front draft frame,passed under a single sprocket chain wheel and around two sprocketwheels; said latter sprocket wheels being on two ol' the apron rollershafts and thcsingle sprocket wheel on the cutter operating shaft,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS A. CHAPMAN.

Witnesses:

CAssELL SEVERANCE, W. HARVEY MUZZY.

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